Lalu convicted in third Fodder case: Tejashwi blames Nitish, says his father still seen as India's hero

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New Delhi: RJD supremo and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Yadav was convicted in the third fodder case by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ranchi on Wednesday. Minutes after the verdict, son and former deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav rushed to pin the blame on Nitish Kumar and said that the JDU leader is targetting his family.

Lalu was convicted in a case which pertains to alleged fraudulent withdrawal from the Chaibasa treasury in the early 1990s. Tejashwi though said that an appeal against the verdict will be filed in a higher court and that his father was still a hero for the country. "Lalu ji has a special place in the hearts of Indians, he is still seen as a hero. We respect the verdict that has come today but we will appeal against it in a higher court," he told media persons. Interestingly, he had refused to meet the press after Lalu was convicted in the second fodder case last year.

On Wednesday though, he minced no words in not just defending his father but pinning the blame on friend-turned-foe Nitish Kumar. "Nitish ji has framed my father and is targetting my family. The people of Bihar and in fact the entire country can see through what is happening. The truth will come out," said the 28-year-old who was the deputy CM of the state when the JDU-RJD alliance was going strong.

Its nothing surprising, it was expected. The statements coming from RJD are unfortunate, do they mean to say the judge is conspiring with BJP and Nitish ji?: Sushil Modi,Bihar Deputy CM on Lalu Yadav convicted in third fodder scam case pic.twitter.com/NrTlXvpybB — ANI (@ANI) January 24, 2018

The alliance between the two parties, also called Mahagathbandhan, came apart at the seams when Lalu and his family members were charged in a hotels-for-land case. Questions were raised on Nitish's vision for clean politics. The JDU leader eventually broke away from RJD and entered into an alliance with BJP.